Confessions
by pamala77
Summary: This happens about 20 years after BD. Bella Edward and Renesmee go to see a sick and old charlie to tell him everything. How will he take the news that his daughter was actually a vampire all this time? Also reveals a few little secrets.


Confessions

I drove with unusual slowness down the old, familiar highway today. Edward was in the passenger seat and Renesmee sat quietly in the back messing with her MP3 she had gotten on her last birthday to replace the one Edward had given her twenty years ago. She was fully grown and, as awkward as I felt about it, engaged to Jacob. I shuddered a little. She had grown up so fast and I didn't want to let her go after just eight years. So, playing the wicked witch of the west, I had made her wait until she reached 20. In truth it was more like forcing Jacob to wait. He respected my wishes, after a beating that only Edward knew about, and waited as patiently as he could for all these years. I was proud of my little girl. She waited to get married technically as long as any other person should. Longer than I did. She was all too excited on her 20th when Jacob knelt down with a ring in his hands as his birthday present for her. I knew it was coming and went with it for her sake. It's not like they were gonna move away or anything. Edward seemed glad to get her out of the house. Since she had 'matured' it was harder for us to have our moments alone, and he was very anxious to have a house of just two. He did however stand with me about the age thing. He had gotten pretty attached to his little girl and wasn't about to send her away as soon as she was 'old enough'. The date was set for July the 5th. Renesmee had always loved the fireworks on the 4th of July and wanted to have a wedding in the sunlight. She definitely inherited my love of warm weather, and took every chance to meander down to La Push any time the sun was shining. Jake always took her to their 'secret beach', which was actually OUR 'secret beach' before I was even married. Oh well, the past is the past, and honestly I was much happier that Renesmee was getting married to Jake instead of Nahuel. Edward and I had expected him to come looking for her after the first seven years had passed, but we hadn't expected his romantic persistence. He had left flowers, chocolates, love notes ect. for Renesmee every night for almost a month before she started to reject them. He was heartbroken, but Edward assured us that he would get over it. He wasn't in love with her the way Jake was. He didn't care in the same way that Jake did for her. Nahuel went back to roaming the world and searching for more of his kind and we still hadn't heard from him.

I thought about this as I pulled into the driveway of Charlie's familiar, old house. I stepped out of the car as Edward opened Renesmee's door for her. She gave him a look that I had seen a lot lately, like only Jake was aloud to show her that kind of generosity. Though I guess having your dad open your door for you would get old after 20 years. She stepped out and and around Edward and met my gaze with an apology shining in her eyes. Edward obviously heard her thoughts and smiled at the apology like any other parent would. I let Renesmee lead the way up to Charlie's house and knock on the door. She tapped it lightly and stepped back as Sue opened the door for us. She was older of course, but seemed to be doing well in her age. She and Charlie both had done better after they had officially tied the not. They seemed so happy, and it helped that Sue not only could cook, but loved to do it. She had actually been working on some 'tasteful weight-loss' food since the old stuff had made Charlie get a little big around the waist. Of course, at this point there was no more need for that.

Charlie had been sick before, but even Carlisle said his age was the main problem. He was almost 70 now and all those greasy steaks that he had enjoyed at the time were now making his life much harder. I was definitely sad he was passing away, but at the same time it gave me liberty to tell him everything. He had finally gotten curious the last three years and I promised him on his last visit that I would be sure to tell him the entire story before he passed. That's why we had made the trip back to Forks. That's why the Cullen family was returning, for however short of a time. As much as it hurt me to say it or think it I had to admit it. Charlie was dying, and I was going to keep my last promise to him and make sure he knew everything.

Sue showed us to the all too familiar living room. We had called ahead so that Charlie wouldn't be surprised at our arrival. We walked in and there he was, my old, wrinkly, crusty, dad, lying in his easy chair with the foot rest propped up.

"Hey kids." He choked out with a grin. "Have seat." We glided over to the couch opposite him, not trying too hard to look human any more. After all if we were here to tell him everything then acting the part didn't apply at the moment. He seemed to notice and looked at the three of us questioningly. Then he smiled and folded his hands over his belly. He let out a peaceful sigh and opened his mouth to speak again. "Sue says that you came here for a reason. You want to explain to me what that is?" I looked at Edward for some reassurance and then back to my dad.

"Dad," I said almost trying to let my angelic voice flow. "you know how you said you wanted to know the whole truth someday?" He nodded and took in a deep breath. He must have know that was the reason for our arrival. "Well you better get comfortable 'cause this is a pretty long story." He fidgeted in his seat and nodded for me to continue. "I guess the first thing you should know is that the Cullens, me included, are not really human." I looked at him waiting for his eyes to widen or something. He just grinned a little and sat up in his chair.

"I kinda figured that. No human could possibly be as pretty as you lot are and not manage to age without being something of gods." I chuckled. I had always thought of Edward as more of a god than anything else.

"Well we are immortal, but not gods by any means." He sat up and pushed the footrest down, apparently interested in what I was saying, but at the same time not surprised or scared. It was like I was telling him a fairytale and he was just anxious to know what was going to happen next. "I'm not really sure if there is an easy way to put this, so I guess I'll just tell you." I breathed before continuing. "The Cullens are sort of vampires, and so am I." I paused letting it sink in. I was actually relieved to see Charlie's eyes widen as he grasped what I had said. I could see his mind puzzle through everything that had happened since I had come to live with him in Forks all those years ago. He was trying to put all the pieces together. "Dad?" I said warily. I didn't want to scare him into a heart attack. He took in a deep breath as he looked me and Edward over as if seeing us for the first time.

"Well that was," He paused trying to think of the words. "not exactly what I expected, but it does go along with the werewolf thing pretty well. Is that why there was so much tension between you and Jake for the longest time?" He said looking to Edward. He smiled and nodded. Charlie smiled back then thought for a moment. "So, how did all this happen? I'm pretty sure you were born human, right?" I nodded with a grin.

"Remember my honeymoon? I came home sick and you weren't aloud to see me." He nodded, looking at me like I should continue. "Well I already knew Edward and all the Cullens were vampires, but what none of us knew was that vampires and humans can," I paused. "reproduce." Charlie's eyes widened and he quickly turned to stare at Renesmee. She waved at him with a smile and then he turned back to me, questioningly. "Yes dad. Renesmee is our real daughter. Your real granddaughter. She just aged quicker for the first seven years. Then she stopped growing." It took him longer to comprehend all of this, but he seemed to be believing it fairly well.

"So you were human, and pregnant, at 18, with a vampire's baby?" He stared at me and then glared at Edward who looked away as a tremor of pain ran across his face. He never really did get over the pain I suffered during my difficult pregnancy. Charlie saw the flush of pain cross his face and came to the conclusion quicker than I expected. "You were dying. You really were sick?"

"Yeah. I actually did die, but Edward brought me back. He saved my life." I turned to look at him ans put my hand on his. He looked at me and smiled back with that crooked smiled that never seemed to loose it's touch.

"So, does this connect to your mysterious injuries, disappearances to other countries and nightmares that only came up after you moved to Forks?" He raised a questioning eyebrow. Edward and I chuckled a little. Renesmee looked at me confused then put a hand on my arm, asking me what I was talking about.

"I'm going to explain. You can hold your horses." She sat back and waited for me to explain. Charlie raised his eyebrow again. I stood and walked over to the little window. The sun was peaking out behind the clouds just in the right spot. I pulled the curtain back and watched the stream of light trail down in front of me. My dad stared back puzzled by my actions.

"Unlike the vampires in fairytales, we don't turn to dust in the sun." I raised my arm and let the sunlight reflect off my skin like a disco ball onto the ceiling and walls of the dark room. Edward came to stand next to me letting his face and arms gleam in the light as well. Charlie just stared with his mouth open. He wasn't scared or anything like that, just amazed and in awe. I closed the curtain back and Edward and I came to reclaim our seats on the couch. Charlie followed us with his eyes like we were suddenly the most interesting things on the planet, and to him that was probably true.

"So vampires shimmer in the sun. Anything else that doesn't go along with the fairytales?" He asked calmly, though I could sense his nervousness. I opened my mouth to speak, but Edward stopped me, holding a finger up and turned to look at Charlie.

"To answer your, unspoken, question, yes we do drink blood, but we sustain ourselves with animal blood. We prefer to keep somewhat of our humanity, so to speak, by not murdering humans." His tone was calm and unwavering. Charlie didn't seem too frightened by this, but more puzzled. As if he was trying to put all the pieces together and make sense of things with his new information. He leaned forward, staring at Edward, then turning to me with a smile. Edward smiled too. "You are very perceptive Charlie. I didn't think you would come to that conclusion so quickly." He turned to put his arm around me and grinned that all too familiar grin. I looked back at him questioningly and then back to my dad, who was staring, eyebrows raised, at the vampire who had just read his thoughts and answered another unspoken question for him.

"That will definitely save time in conversation." he said with a weak chuckle. Then he turned to me. "So vampires read minds. That's one I would have never guessed."

"Well, actually," I added. "only certain vampires have special abilities and only Edward can read minds. Alice can see the future, depending on a person's decisions, and Jasper can control your emotions. It's actually very helpful." He smiled and leaned back in his chair. Apparently he was becoming more relaxed with this. It was very un-Charlie of him to be so easy going and accepting. Then again he had been very different after he had gotten the last flu. He had changed so much in personality, because he knew he wasn't going to have much time left. He was trying to accept everything so that there would be no doubt when the time came. I took in a deep breath. I had adapted to his scent a while back and was comforted by it now. It reminded me that this really was Charlie, and he was just being easier to deal with.

"So can you do anything special?" He asked, pointing to me with his somewhat boney index finger. I shrugged.

"I guess so. I can make a mental shield, blocking some of the other vampire powers. Edward has never been able to read my mind without me trying to take the shield down. Even when I was human." I smiled and put my hand on his hand, which was still draped over my shoulder. "That's kind of what got him interested in the first place." Edward smiled and brushed some hair out of my face, tucking it behind my ear. I had gotten very good at pushing away my shield for him in the past few years, and let him in then to see my memories. They were dull human memories, but they were brighter than some of the others. I remembered the first time I had seen him staring at me and the first time he had told me about his ability. I let the shield slide back into place so as not to bring any unwanted memories boiling to the surface. It was good to know he could only see the things I wanted him to see. He smiled widely at me, as he always did when he got a look at my thoughts, and rubbed my cheek tenderly. Charlie watched us for a moment and then turned to look at Renesmee.

"What about you? Can you do anything sweety?" Renesmee turned to me, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree and set her hand on mine. She asked if she could show Charlie her gift and I nodded. She jumped up and started to make her way over to Charlie. His eyebrows crinkled together and he slouched in his chair a little.

"Renesmee," Edward interjected just before she could lift her hand. "perhaps you should warn him before you startle his heart. We wouldn't want him to have a heart attack would we?" He was looking intently at her and I could hear the reason for his interruption. Charlie's heart had begun to thump quite a bit faster and lightly uneven. Renesmee looked at her father and nodded with a smile. She then turned back to Charlie.

"I have a gift for telling people things without words. I can show you anything I have seen and send you flickers of my opinion on the subject. Can I show you?" She reached out her hand and let it sit in the air for Charlie. He stared at it for a moment and then smiled. He raised his hand and put it in Renesmee's perfect, dainty hands. I watched as his eyes widened again and he sucked in a quick breath. He let out a more peaceful sigh and closed his eyes to better see the pictures. I turned to Edward to get a hint at what she was showing him. He smiled.

"She is showing him Jacob and how they used to play when she was young." He paused. "She is also showing him our home in the forest and our family. It's more like a portrait of us really. Our little family of four." My brow furrowed.

"Four?" I asked.

"She has always counted Jake as a member of our family." He smiled and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek before Charlie could look up. I smiled and let my fingers glide along his cheek. I had always known she counted Jake in our group, but I just never really put it together like that before. I turned back to Charlie who still had his eyes closed and was smiling now, a tear escaping down the side of his face. I looked back at Edward.

"He's seeing Renesmee's memory of him on her first Christmas. She is telling him how much she loves him through her own feelings and thoughts. It's much more believable than just saying 'I love you'." I smiled and turned back to Charlie and Renesmee. Renesmee was petting Charlie's hand and I saw a tear trickle down her cheek as well. He caught it with his other hand and they shared the same happy faces. I had never seen her look so much like him before. I could really see the family resemblance when they were right next to each other. Charlie patted her hand and nodded.

"Thank you." He said. She nodded and walked back to her seat next to me, wiping another happy tear from her face. We were all quiet for a moment, letting some of what had happened sink in. Then Sue came in and ended the silence.

"Charlie dear, it's time for your medicine." She said, holding a small, plastic cup half full of pills to him. He took it and she handed him a glass of water. He smiled and popped all the pills in, washing them down with the water.

"Thanks dear." He said.

"Are you getting hungry yet? It's almost dinner time." She stated. I looked over at the clock. We had been there for almost two hours. The time had flown by so fast. I could tell we were not going to be able to finish this entire conversation tonight. I looked at Edward and knew he was thinking the same thing. We stood.

"It's alright Sue we needed to get home anyways. Would it be alright if we continued our discussion tomorrow?" I asked as politely as I could. I always tried to show Sue the most respect as a thank you for caring for my dad so well. She was a perfect match for Charlie and had spent the majority of her time caring for him. I owed her more than I could give. Charlie sat forward and looked up at me.

"So there's more?" He asked. I nodded and grinned a little. "Then you have to come back to finish the story. Like I said, I want to know it all."

"OK dad. We'll come by tomorrow and finish up the story. Hopefully we wont take too much of your day away from you."

"Don't rush it. I want to know everything that was going on behind my back when you two were dating. And I also want to know about your trips around the world. I want everything to fit into place. If you have to spend all day tomorrow and the next day. I will be sure to stay and hear it." I grinned.

"Sure. But I hope you know that not all of the stories are as happy and joyful as you might think."

"My daughter was dating a vampire. I don't expect anything to be too happy or joyful." We all chuckled for a moment before saying our goodbyes and departing. I was glad he had taken the news so well, but especially glad we were coming back tomorrow to continue the story. Our story. Edward drove home and Renesmee stared out the window. Our perfect family. It was all I needed to be happy. After Charlie passed I knew I would still be happy, because I would have Edward and Renesmee and Jacob with me. I would be totally content for all of eternity. And that's the way it's supposed to be, well for us anyways.


End file.
